Device for cleaning hollow articles.



PATENTED FEB. 11, 1908. w. H. GA'LLAHAN. .4 v DEVIOBFOR CLEANING HOLLOW ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1906.

ATTORNEY In: ca, WASHINGTON, n. c.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM 1-1. OALLAHAN, OFNEW Yo'RK, N. Y.

DEVICE FOR CLEANING HOLLOW ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 13.1906. Serial in. 321.459. 7

Patented Feb. 11, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

. tles, or similar hollow articles, in a quick,

I .mouths, such as lamp chimneys.

efficient and sanitary manner, at the same time preventing the abrading of the surface of the article to be cleaned.

A more important object is to provide a device-which will easily, quickly and thoroughly clean bottles or like receptacles having small necks.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device partly in section, illustrating the manner in which it is used in cleaning a bottle. Fig. 2.is a section of the cleaner showing details of construction. is intended for use with articles having large Fig. 4 is a cross section of the device taken at right angels to the longitudinal axis. Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

My device consists essentially of a bag of fabrioadapted to be suspended within the receptacle and provided with means for causing the said fabric to impinge upon the inner surface of the walls of the article to be cleaned. It is obviously susceptible of vari ous modifications without departing from the spirit of. my invention. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as'limiting myself to the particular form shown and described but desire to cover the invention broadly as pointed out in the claims.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, 1. is a stopper of cork or other suitable material, and is preferably tapered as shown in order to adapt it for use with articles having mouths of different sizes. This stopper I prefer to provide with a handle such as the wire loop 2 which will also serve as means for hanging up the articles. To the base of this stopper is secured a cord 3 which may be fastened to the stopper by extending the wire forming the loop 2 therethrough, form- Fig. 3 illustrates a modification which ing its lower end. into a hook 4 and securing the cord to the said hook. Atsuitable points upon this cord I string a plurality of beads 5, 5 &c. of glass or porcelain so that they may move freely upon the said cord. To retain these beads within certain desired limits, however, I provide stops 6 and 7 of felt or other suitable material, immovably fastened to the cord. Surrounding this cord and the beads is a bag 8 of some suitable fabric and the lower end of the cord is preferably secured to the lower end of the bag. The bag may be made, of many different materials, but I have found in practice that Turkish toweling gives very satisfactory results. The-shape of this bag is capable of considerable variation, although I prefer to make it conical having its largest portion near the lower end. From this point it may be again tapered to a point. The bag may be fastened to the stopper in anydesired manner, although I have shown it as secured to the end of the 'wire which projects below the stopper by wrapping wire or thread about the bag and the said wire.

The mode of operation of my device is as follows: A small amount of water is placed within the article to be cleaned, and if desired somes'uitable washing powder is introduced, although I find that this is generally unnecessary. The cleaner is then. introbottle the stopper pressed into the neck. The whole is then shaken for a few moments and the beads within the ba cause the fabric to impinge upon the bott e with considerable force and will therefore clean the surface very satisfactorily. The cleaner is then removed and the article may be rinsed and dried. It will be found thatthe cleaner will retain few impurities upon its surface, and that what few are retained can be easily removed either by rinsing or by washing.

To adapt the device for cleaning articles having large necks, such as lamp chimneys for example, it is only necessary to replace the stopper by some larger article. In practice I have successfully used the form shown in Fig. 3 in which the plate 9 of moderately stiff felt is used in place of the stopper, the remainder of the device being unchanged,v I the essential featurein this regard being the provision of a closure for the bottle or other like article, which closure may be a stopper (1) or a plate (9) as stated.

duced into the article and in the case of a p Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a bottle cleaning device the combination of a stopper adapted to close the mouth of the article to be cleaned, a bag of fabric attached to base of said stopper, a cord having its upper end attached to said stopper and its lower end attached to the bottom of'said bag, and a plurality of beads mounted upon said cord adapted to facilitate the introduction of said bag into said article and to cause it to impinge upon its inner surface when agitated.

2. In a bottle cleaning device the combination of a stopper provided with a handle, a fabric bag attached to the bottom of said stopper, a cord within said bag having one limits.

WILLIAM H. OALLAI-IAN. Witnesses:

HARRY G. SANDERS,

OLIVER WILLIAMs. 

